Petrobras Looks to Sell Houston Area Refinery

By

Ben Lefebvre And

Ryan Dezember

Updated Nov. 27, 2012 8:38 p.m. ET

Petroleo Brasileiro SA has enlisted Citigroup Inc. to sell its Houston area refinery as the Brazilian state-run oil company continues to shed assets to help fund offshore drilling back home, according to people with knowledge of the sale effort.

A sale of the 100,000-barrel-a-day refinery will likely result in a loss for the company, known as Petrobras, which paid nearly $1.2 billion for the facility, one of these people said.